Wait, see and drink tea
by Jasu94
Summary: Sam Hanna has something very important to tell G Callen - who is unconscious after the shooting. And even after a bit of camomile tea clears out the first problems, there are a few more obstacles in their way.
1. The Leopard Cannot Change His Spots

_Hello, guys... This is my second story/second slash. I hope you enjoy it. I will upload in a roughly two to three week rhythm. Let me know what you think about it, I don`t bite. _

_A big **Thank You** goes to my beta **Monkeywand**. She did an awesome job of answering faster than I thought and reading through this. It really means a lot for me to get help from a native. _

_Well, enough of the sweet-talk, you are here to read a story. _

_Disclaimer: Everything that sounds familiar (e.g. characters) does not belong to me, but the CBS. This goes for the whole story._

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><p>Sam Hanna had always been patient. During his training with the Navy-Seals he had to wait often enough without being allowed to do anything. But what Hetty wanted from him now was just too much. Lying on his desk was one paper pile after another: bills, reports, documents and who knows what else that he ought to sort, file, fill out and write. Sure, he was behind schedule, but that wasn't his fault, right? And today of all days she had to keep him in the office until everything was done. Fair enough, everybody else had to do their stuff, too, but nobody was unhappier than Sam.<p>

"Hah!" Sam shouted, earning startled looks from the whole office. "I. Am. Done!" he called out, bursting with excitement and threw the last file on the pile that went back to Hetty. Kensi buried her head in her hands, sighing and looked from her own considerably high pile to her colleague. But Sam sensed her wish immediately.

"No, Kensi. Don't even think about it. You will stay here with Nate, Eric and Dom like a good girl and finish your stuff. And I will go home now. That's what I have been waiting for all day. Just me, a cool beer and my 50 inch plasma TV."

"Well then. Say hello to... your TV for me, okay?" Nate grinned. Sam shook his head smiling. It was a mystery to him how the psychologist always manage to catch him lying despite his excellent under-cover skills.

Of course he wouldn't drive home. How could he? G was lying in the hospital and he, his best friend, should drive home, without at least visiting the crazy fellow? Granted, Callen didn't get much out of these visits, but Sam was sure, that he had a profit out of it somehow. Determined he headed for the California Hospital Medical Center.

The rush-hour traffic was already over at the late hour, but the streets were everything but empty. Just before the big crossroad where the Rosa Parks Freeway turned into the Santa Monica Freeway and then crossed the Harbor Freeway, Sam turned right on Hope Street to reach the guest entrance of the hospital. He liked the name of that street - Hope - as it was exactly what he needed. Hope that G would wake up again.

In silence, Sam stood at Callen's bedside and looked down on his partner and friend. He was a pale as the sheets surrounding him. Only his chest moved up and down rhythmically, supported by a machine. Another one showed his heart rhythm, which at that time was lying a bit under the normal rates. But that was not alarming, as Callen didn't move. To be exact, he hadn't moved since five days ago. He also hadn't opened his eyes and smiled. And he hadn't open his mouth to explain Sam that he didn't had to blame himself.

Wordlessly, Sam sat down and put his hand on G's. There is was again, that flutter in his stomach. He had felt it before when he was with his younger colleague, but it wasn't until the day of the shooting when he realized what it was: love. He looked down on the face of his partner. Eyes closed, G laid completely peaceful, nothing showing the struggle for survival inside. But Sam couldn't let him die. G couldn't go without hearing what he felt for him and say - hopefully - the same back. Sam pressed the cool, small hand in his harder.

When the gunfire went off, G Callen was in no way prepared. With one eye still greeting Sam, with the other watching the girl that somehow looked so familiar, he didn't see the black vehicle. It was not until the acoustic signal reached him when he realized what was happening. But by then, it was already too late. The lead perforated his chest, stomach and shoulders in five places.

Callen sank onto the hard asphalt that was soaked with his blood. He saw the car driving off, saw Sam shooting after it. Then his vision went black. He felt the strong arms off his friend and heard him calling 911. Desperately he was trying to tell him something, if these would be the last seconds they would spend together, but he had already lost control over his lips.

"Don't do that to me, G! Stay with me!" But Callen couldn't fight against it. He lost consciousness and fell into deep darkness.

The dark was comfortable. Here, there was nothing. Here he didn't feel pain anymore, everything was long forgotten and receded into the distance. G Callen wanted to stay in that pleasant state of abeyance; he had no wishes anymore and no needs. But, deep in his heart, he heard his name muttered. He knew the voice that spoke, but the pleading and sad undertone was completely unknown to him.

Callen realized that the voice wasn't with him in the nothing, but outside. It was calling him, wanting him to leave the dark. G knew that outside of the nothing, there would be pain awaiting him, but his heart wanted to hear this voice more often.

G Callen took all his strength and broke free from the dark. Only to awake in a completely dark room. The line on the monitor bounced stronger. It became regular. Pixel after pixel strung together and formed a bilious green line that moved over the black of the monitor. Up, down, up, down. Normal.

At about 4 in the morning, Sam awoke. The tingle in his gone dead arm that hung askew on the bed had woken him. He was still with G, he realized, and he was still holding his hand. Intuitively the Seal in him knew that something in the room had changed. Someone was watching him. Slowly, he took a look around and when he realized who followed him with bright blue eyes, he almost fell of the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Sam, you snore like a drunken sailor!"


	2. Wave Goodbye to the Rules

**AN:** _Thanks to all of you guys that read, reviewed and subscribed this story. It is blowing my mind that people from all over the world could be/are interested in a story by me. So, about this chapter. Two days ago, I sent it to my beta and I didn`t get an answer. Which is fine, really. It is just that I grow impatient very very easily. So I uploaded it without her having read it. She will still answer me and then I will fix any mistakes. For now, I hope, it is okay. Well, I am keen to hear your opinion, so please review. Jasu_

**Edit:******_Anyone reading this after 11-13-2011 reads the corrected version. Thanks goes to_ **Monkeywand**_ for working through this. _

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><p>"G…" Sam murmured, completely confused. He closed his eyes briefly and shook his head, but Callen was no dream.<p>

"Yes, I am…" Callen started an explanation, but the rest of the sentence didn`t get out, as Sam stood up and carefully hugged him. Though his body was burning from pain, Sam's warmth and strength revitalized that. At least for a while. Then the stitching pain returned and Sam`s weight on his small chest was bothering him.

"Hey Sam… You gained weight, didn`t you? Dude, you are too heavy for me – can you get off?" Callen had never experienced the Seal that attached and emotional, but he had never been hurt that much, either. And somehow he liked being held by Sam, smelling his scent and feeling his muscles under his hand. It felt right. But he wasn`t strong enough to hold the husky man for long. And his partner didn`t show the slightest inclination to break away from him. Gentle and awkward, Callen stroked Sam`s shoulders.

"Hey. Sam. That is not funny. I can`t go on any longer." It was not until then that he heard the silent sobbing and his heart missed a beat. He had never seen Sam shed a tear ever before. But thanks to their long partnership the younger one immediately knew what his partner was thinking.

"Don`t worry about it. It is not your fault."

"I should have reacted faster. I should have seen that car. I shouldn`t have let you walk home alone. I should have…" Sam gabbled into G´s shoulder, but his friend interrupted him.

"Hold on a second, big guy. I have never met my mother, but it is definitely not you. And unless you happen to be fortune teller, there is no way you could have known what those guys were up to. Well, last I checked, "fortune teller" was not your assignment. Be honest, didn`t you helped me as much as you could? Didn`t you tried revitalization? Didn`t you shot after them? Didn`t you called 911? Me laying here is so not your fault, Sam! And anyway, why are you being such a drama queen about it? I am still alive!"

Sam snorted and got back up. His eyes were glistering, but G couldn`t make up any tears.

"Well, of course you are still alive, but you could`ve died!"  
>"That's what I became a cop for!"<br>"To die?"  
>"No. For the risk of dying to help others. Sam, seriously. Kensi got shot once. Macy was in the hospital after that one drug case. Eric was under medical treatment and in none of those cases you acted up like now."<p>

Silence spread in the room. Sam was searching for words to explain his matter to his partner. And G was just staring at him and tried to guess his thoughts.

"I just like you. More than everybody else," Sam whispered. G was sure that he had only been shot in his chest, but somehow his ears must have gotten some damage, too. Because what he believed to have heard could not be true.

"What?"  
>"I know you are not good with those interpersonal things, but… G… Haven`t you noticed something? That somehow things between us have changed?" Sam sounded desperate. He didn`t know how to tell Callen his feelings in a gentle way.<p>

"What exactly ought to have changed?" Of course G knew. But did Sam mean the same thing? No, that was simply impossible.

"G Callen. I… I… Oh, damn it." Sam interrupted his own stammering, leaned forward and aimed for G`s mouth with his own. But the so approached turned away and dodged.

"Sam, don`t…" Disappointed and with eyes widened with shock Sam sank back onto the chair.  
>"Please… say something." G heard that his partner was fighting with tears. Carefully, he sat up and grasped Sam`s big hand.<p>

"I have felt it. But I would have never dreamed that you too would be…  
>well… be…"<br>"…gay?" Sam helped out, unbelievably happy about G`s confession.

"Yes." There was silence again, but it was of the pleasant type. In G relief and shock struggled for the upper hand, but a yet unknown feeling intervened, too – Callen was enamored and to assimilate that took its time. Sam also remained silent, too happy that G did feel like he did himself. Granted, he didn`t really say anything, but Sam understood the meaning between the words and was proud that G had mastered that. But there still were questions to be answered.

"I really do like you, Callen. My world caved in when you were bleeding to death in my arms. I thought I could never tell you what I felt for you." As Callen wanted to open his mouth to speak, Sam put his index finger above it.

"No, G. You don`t have to say anything. I don`t want to push you to confess something to me that aren`t ready to confess. We will approach this slowly, your pace. But can we at least approach it at all?" G smiled and nodded.

"It is 4:40 a.m., I am in a hospital and the only one I could imagine being here with is you, Sam. We are a good team on the job, why shouldn`t that work in private, too? But I am scared, Sam. I don`t want to do anything wrong. You have to help me – I don`t know how to do things like this the right way. Trust… and relationship… and all this. Okay?"

"Okay." Sam whispered and pulled G into his strong arms again.

"What is about rule number 14?" he then asked softly. G grinned.  
>"It is the 12 and they are Gibbs rules, not Hetty's."<br>"Never mind then."

Sam pulled his shoes off and lay down next to G. Very carefully he put his arms around him, hoping he wouldn`t hurt him. Callen accepted this proximity without complain and shyly cuddled up against Sam`s shoulders.

"Do you know that you smell like baby powder, Sam Hanna?" he wanted to know with a sleepy voice.  
>"Whatever, moron." With a smile playing their lips, both men fell asleep.<p> 


End file.
